Heerman began his career in the mid-teens directing Mack Sennett shorts before graduating to light, breezy features in 1920. He is perhaps best known for the Marx Brothers vehicle, "Animal Crackers" (1930). Heerman concentrated on screenwriting from the early 1930s and won an Oscar for "Little Women" (1932/33).

Heerman began his career in the mid-teens directing Mack Sennett shorts before graduating to light, breezy features in 1920. He is perhaps best known for the Marx Brothers vehicle, "Animal Crackers" (1930). Heerman concentrated on screenwriting from the early 1930s and won an Oscar for "Little Women" (1932/33).